This invention relates to a technology for creating backups of data, and more particularly, to a technology for creating backups via a network having a fluctuating bandwidth.
In companies, as the information technology (IT) is introduced in the business, important business data tends to be stored in storage devices. As a result, the companies take measures such as storing backups of business data at remote locations in case of a large-scale disaster such as an earthquake.
However, investment in the IT is limited in medium- and small-scale companies, and they need inexpensive means for remote backups. For example, they use an inexpensive WAN such as the ADSL and FTTH as the WAN coupling branch offices with each other.
However, the inexpensive WAN such as the ADSL is low in quality compared with a dedicated line, and does not guarantee the bandwidth, and there is thus a problem that an administrator cannot determine whether a remote backup by means of the inexpensive WAN satisfies a recovery point objective (RPO) requirement in advance. The RPO indicates up to which time point data is to be recovered from a time point at which an accident or a failure occurred.
In order to solve the above problem, it is necessary to predict the size of data subject to the backup (hereinafter, referred to as backup data amount), and the bandwidth of the WAN. The prediction of the bandwidth of the WAN is necessary because the bandwidth of a low quality WAN fluctuates. Moreover, as a technology for predicting the backup data amount, JP 2004-171249 A discloses a technology which predicts a main processing amount based on history of amounts of past business operation processing (main processed amounts), and determines whether a backup is to be carried out based on a change in the main processing amount.
However, the technology disclosed in JP 2004-171249 A assumes that the bandwidth of a communication line between a recording medium storing a database and a recording medium for storing a backup of the database is constant. As a result, the technology disclosed in JP 2004-171249 A does not include a technology for predicting a bandwidth if the bandwidth of the WAN fluctuates, and thus cannot solve the above problem.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide information used for, when data is backed up to a remote location using a WAN having a fluctuating bandwidth, predicting the backup data amount and the fluctuation of the bandwidth of the WAN, and determining whether requirements for creating the backup are satisfied.